SNL Top 50 Sketches, 2010-2015

[Cheynem]

Here is a list I made, ranking my personal top 50 of the show's last five years.

TOP 50 SNL SKETCHES
2010-2015

This is my personal attempt to determine the top 50 SNL sketches from the last five seasons (2010-2011 to 2014-2015). Here are the ground rules:

*Recurring sketches are counted only once, based on my feeling of where the "best" of them would rank. If not noted in the ranking or in commentary, no one particular recurring entry stood out; in a few cases, there is a particular example that is being honored.

*I did not count Weekend Update or monologues (not that the monologues would usually have made the list). Update is so different from the rest of the show (and sometimes more topical) that it is harder to evaluate in isolation. I made one exception that you will see on this list.

*This is a fairly subjective list. I didn't count some famous bits (like "I Just Had Sex," for example) that are funny but not really on my personal best. My thought patterns were basically "am I still amused thinking about this now? Would I want to watch this sketch again?"


50. Piers Morgan Live (1/18/14)
This sketch, the opening from the Drake hosted episode, is only on here because it is, as least as I can remember, the first time Kate McKinnon busted out her fantastic Justin Bieber impression. That said, Taran Killam does an underrated Piers Morgan impression, and Drake himself is reasonably funny as Alex Rodriguez (Drake did a really good job hosting his episode, but couldn't quite produce a top 50 bit in the remainder of the show).

49. The Abacus Conundrum (12/4/10)
This is a pretty dumb, otherwise obscure bit, but I still to this day chuckle when I think about it now, so I guess it should make the list. Robert De Niro is Harlan Kane, the author of variously interchangeable paperback thrillers. De Niro's smug glee at shilling his book cracks me up, as does his straightfaced query "Have you buckled up, yet?"

48. Little Fockers (12/4/10)
These two rankings should not probably confuse you into thinking De Niro is a good host, as he remains a painfully awkward one. Still, this sketch is another guilty pleasure. Bobby Moynihan is a hyperactive youngster who is obsessed with the Meet the Parents movies and so is overjoyed to be on the set of the Little Fockers movie. He is thrilled to meet even the lowliest stagehand…but could care less about De Niro. It's a simple premise that was used in an earlier season when Moynihan's lad blew off a Bradley Cooper played hockey player, but this sketch works better by using a real celebrity. Ben Stiller's cameo (and the reference to the film Permanent Midnight) also helps out the sketch.

47. Kick Spit Underground Festival (various)
Frankly, all of these sketches combined aren't as funny as the real Juggalo Gathering advertisements, but taken as a whole, I think they have a fine groove to them. I can't really distinguish between them, as they all offer the same mix of weird guests, violent activities, and Mrs. Potato Dick. R.I.P. A** Dan.

46. The Californians (4/4/12)
First, let me say that this sketch, as a recurring feature, is awful, was used way too much, and its presence on the 40th anniversary show was a joke. However, I did enjoy the first iteration of it, when the central joke of weird pronunciations and obsession with road directions (a real feature of Californian discourse, based on my limited experiences) was still funny. The first version of it also has a nice amount of corpsing, which would make this sketch far more palatable as a one time affair.

45. Say What You Want to Say (2/28/15)
This is the recent filmed short in which various women finally say what's on their mind to their colleagues and friends while Sara Bareilles' Brave plays over and over. It's an odd bit that mixes actual truth-telling with a blithe celebration of ignorance, but put all together, it more or less works. As usual, Kate McKinnon makes the most of her screen time, getting by far the most laughs for her request for Sasheer Zamata to leave the bathroom so she can poop.

44. Andy Rydell Fight (11/22/14)
I am not as a big a fan of the Kyle Mooney/Beck Bennett mumblecore humor as Carsten is, although I certainly don't hate it. It's usually amusing enough that I don't mind watching but am not really interested in watching again. This is probably my favorite of the bits with Mooney's Chris Fitzpatrick recording his desire to fight Bennett's Andy Rydell. Mooney's stuttering delivery, sometimes annoying in live sketches, works well here ("I'll take the matter…into my own…my own hands…and it's…the hands…the hands that rock his cradle!").

43. Poverty Ad (10/11/14)
This sketch is legendary among Fantasy SNL devotees as scoring a "four point play," in which someone with a very minor part was funny (4 points). The basic premise is sort of generic and outdated, as Bill Hader's poverty fighting spokesperson is beseeched by Africans to ask for more money instead of the price "of a cup of coffee." The escalation makes things funnier, though, and Leslie Jones has pitch perfect reading of a line asking the audience to send money now if they want to see "this cheap-a** white man again" (if I recall, Jones may not even have been a featured player by this point).

42. Sad Mouse (10/20/12)
Bruno Mars was a very solid host for the show, and this filmed piece about the travails of a guy in a mouse costume, was striking enough to crack the list. It's not really funny, nor was it meant to be, but it's the type of stuff that makes SNL a different sort of show and that I'm glad they produce (as funny as the Lonely Island and Good Neighbor stuff is, I think some of the more quirky short films were produced in the 2012-2013 season).

41. Republicans in Bar Opening (4/14/12)
The primaries for the Republican Party in the 2012 election offered up some funny impressions—Sandberg's perpetually confused Santorum, Kenan's confidently sleazy Herman Cain, Wiig's wacked out Bachmann, Hader's inept Rick Perry, and Sudeikis' cheerfully pandering Romney. This understated bit in which the also-rans hang out with Mitt in a bar while singing Green Day's "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" was a nice capper for the primaries, with everyone getting a moment to shine.

40. The Ambiguously Gay Duo (5/14/11)
What starts out as an otherwise generic adventure of Ace and Gary turns into an amazing bit as a "flesh ray" turns Ace, Gary, and their rogues gallery into live action people (played by Jon Hamm, Jimmy Fallon, Stephen Colbert, Steve Carell, and host Ed Helms). While the dialogue and situations are not necessarily any funnier than any other TV Funhouse short, the creativity and production values are really amazing. I didn't recognize Colbert or Carell at the time, either, as they have great makeup.

39. Psychic (1/8/11)
Jim Carrey's psychic is actually a former stand-up impressionist, and he thus keeps conjuring up "spirits" that are really just excuses for him to do his act. By far the best bit of the sketch is Carrey conjuring up the not-dead Alan Thicke, doing a great impression of him, and Jason Sudeikis' reaction to it: "That was great! No one does a Thicke!" It's the kind of thing that plays better at 10 to 1, but I loved it.

38. Pandora Internet Radio (10/20/12)
This is another good example of how to use a host in a creative way. Bruno Mars is an intern at Pandora Internet Radio, when malfunctions force the crew to use a live feed of Mars singing to get their users the songs they want to hear. It's a basic enough bit carried by Mars' energy and the sizzle of live television: if Mars screwed up (which he does at one point, but by then it's charming, not awkward), this sketch would die a painful death. This bit scored big with the live audience and for good reason.

37. The Sirens (10/13/12)
I still maintain that the 2012-2013 season was a very underrated, brave year that at least initially tried to be quite creative in what they were doing (although the bad episodes from that year are pretty intolerable). Here's kind of a dumb bit from that year that is a personal favorite: Odysseus (Sudeikis) and his crew are besieged by sirens…who only sing "girl songs" like "That Don't Impress Me Much" and "No Scrubs." It's dumb…but it's also creative in a way—far more superior to just rehashing a recycled character. Sudeikis' gleeful joy at hearing the songs carries this sketch quite a ways.

36. Clint Eastwood Chrysler Ad (2/11/12)
These recurring ads throughout the show parodied the somewhat inscrutable Super Bowl Chrysler advertisement narrated by Clint Eastwood. Here, Clint (Hader) rambles his way through the copy, throwing in insane political and racial references, before changing what the commercial is even for along the way. My favorite of these is the second ad where Clint blasts China and then closes by revealing the ad is for Little Caesar's: "Pizza pizza!"

35. Lincoln Ad (10/25/14)
Fittingly, here is another parody of an inscrutable car commercial that was broken up into three parts. In this case, it's Jim Carrey playing the philosophical Matthew McConnaughey as he drives around in his Lincoln. All of the parts have their charms, although I like the part best where McConnaughey notes that this ad campaign may have made more sense when he was doing the film The Lincoln Lawyer.

34. Coroner's Office (11/17/12)
Here is one of the very few highlights from the otherwise dismal Jeremy Renner episode. Renner has to identify his brother at the coroner's office, but what should be a fairly simple task turns out to be quite difficult ("Yao Ming!"). A 10 to 1 sketch written all over it, the premise is greatly enlivened by Sudeikis as the typically bewildered straight man and Hader's bemused assistant.

33. Les Jeunes de Paris (various, favorite is 2/11/12)
I'm not as a big a fan of this bit as some people, but it's always enjoyable to watch, as the energy and charm are ever present. Again, it's something that is a solid fit on SNL—not super funny but creative and fun. My favorite of the sketches is probably the one they did in black and white with Jean Dujardin, but all of them are neat. Taran Killam and Nasim Pedrad are really quite good dancers, based on their work here.

32. JaMarcus Brothers (2/16/13)
The JaMarcus Brothers are a trio of performers who sing hot love songs, but while two of the bros (Kenan Thompson and Jay Pharaoh) seem normal, the other (host Christoph Waltz) is the odd man out, being an adopted European virgin. Englebert JaMarcus' childlike but ignorant glee for sex, as perfectly played by Waltz, gives this sketch its energy. I always crack up when he and Kenan sing the song in which all of Waltz's lines are like "Oh, heck yeah!"

31. Unstoppable (11/13/10)
This is a fake film trailer about that movie with Denzel Washington (Jay Pharaoh) and Chris Pratt (Killam). Both men do fine impressions, as the trailer relentlessly skewers the plot points of the real film trailer (one's old, one's young). This is probably an overly high ranking, but having seen the real Unstoppable trailer a lot, it seems very accurate. Scarlett Johanssen's incessant comparisons to the Chrysler Building also never stop being funny).

30. Mega Mart (11/20/10)
A very funny bit that has been somewhat forgotten (mainly because the basic set-up is pretty similar to the Underground Rock Festival sketches). Bobby Moynihan is a pitchman urging customers to prepare for the Black Friday sale at Mega Mart, which is filled with free box cutters, death metal music, and a contest to find and touch Kirk Douglas.

29. Tell Him (10/15/11)
This 2011 Anna Faris episode is apparently one of the best in history, judging by the sheer number of sketches that cracked the top 50 (and one more, What's Wrong With Tanya?, came pretty close too—that said, the stuff that didn't make the top 50 was rather dire). While this sketch doesn't break any new ground, it's really breezy and cute. Four women try and give advice about love to their naïve friend (Vanessa Bayer) to the tune of the song "Tell Him." The female cast members (including one of the better Abby Elliott performances) mesh well in singing about the importance of telling men "lies." It's a lot more enjoyable than it sounds, believe me, as the gender stereotypes are secondary to the good cheer and energy.

28. Back to the Future 25th Anniversary (10/30/10)
Compilations of failed auditions for famous movies is a pretty standard SNL bit, with the better sketches showcasing offbeat impressions (especially by the hosts). I may again be overrating this iteration of the idea, but it features a lot of fun impressions—Jon Hamm's Robin Williams, Jay Pharaoh's Eddie Murphy, Abby Elliott's oddball Joan Cusack, and the piece de resistance, Bill Hader's masterful Alan Alda, which soon became a much lauded impression. Hader perfectly nails Alda's voice and mannerisms. While I'm on the subject, the more recent 50 Shades of Gray audition sketch has too many lousy impressions to qualify, but Taran Killam's Christoph Waltz and Nasim Pedrad's Aziz Ansari are worth a look.

27. Crime Scene (11/5/11)
The Charlie Day hosted episode from 2011 was quite solid, with two top 50 sketches and a few borderline ones (the Kardashian Fairytale Divorce and to a lesser extent, Greek Gods, sketches almost made it). This quirky little bit was a perfect 10 to 1 sketch, as a crusty detective (Day) confuses his colleague (Sudeikis) by seemingly not understanding the significance of the crime scene taking place in apartment much like Jerry's place on Seinfeld. The surrealistic plot and dialogue, well delivered by both men, make this sketch an unheralded classic.

26. How's He Doing? (various, favorite is 2/19/12)
This has appeared a few times over the years, although I think the strongest version was the first one, which more logically took place at the beginning of the 2012 election cycle. While it's somewhat tacky that the sketch is trotted out for black hosts, this is a rare SNL sketch with some bite, both gently acknowledging and mocking black voters' loyalty to President Obama through thick and thin. My lasting memory of the first version is Maya Rudolph's panelist comparing Mitt Romney to a bad guy in a blaxploitation film ("Look out, Dolomite!").

25. J-Pop America Fun Time Now (various)
This is a very fine sketch that I think overextended itself a little too quickly (it also premiered during the aforementioned Anna Faris episode). It perfectly nails the obsessed-with-Japan-but-clueless-white-folks groups that one sees all over college (including among quizbowlers). Jason Sudeikis' perpetually aghast professor character also makes this sketch worthwhile. I do agree that some more variety would have helped this sketch, although the first few iterations of it were pretty pitch-perfect.

24. Merryville Trolley Ride (various)
This is a sketch that probably didn't need to recur, although I do think the third one (with Bruno Mars and Tom Hanks) is quite strong too. The idea of creepy robots on a trolley ride demonstrating obvious signs of violence is somewhat hackneyed, but it's perfectly played by the actors portraying the robots (a breathtakingly convincing Killam, a wonderfully creepy Hader, and pretty fine host performances). Hanks delivers the worst robot performance of the group, but it's Tom freakin' Hanks.

23. You're a Rat B*****, Charlie Brown! (12/15/12)
As much as Martin Short sucks, his Christmas show from 2012 was pretty strong, and this was the obvious highlight, as inappropriate actors appear in a harsh stage version of A Charlie Brown Christmas. The always welcome Hader impression of Al Pacino is joined by an astonishingly good Larry David impression by Short. The reaction shots of horrified looking kids are also well timed. Killam's underused Michael Keaton impression also appears.

22. Lord Wyndemere (10/15/11)
The crown jewel of the much praised Anna Faris episode is this wonderfully weird bit, which was sadly remade later in the year with Charles Barkley. This is also probably Paul Brittain's finest hour on the show, although his fine work in the Sex Ed Vincent sketches almost made the cut. The plot—Faris is in love with the Elizabethan era fop Wyndemere (Brittain)—is secondary to Brittain's wonderfully weird performance, and Sudeikis doing his usually fine Sudeikis work as Faris' dad, who finds Wyndemere endearing.

21. Kid Mayor (12/6/14)
This is one of the strongest sketches of the 2014-2015 season, which is kind of perturbing since it's a one-note monologue delivered by host James Franco…but a very funny one. Franco's character is an angry rival of the (real) "kid mayor" elected in a small Minnesota town, with his anger rising in symphonic like qualities. Franco's rage at his rival's love of the film Frozen ("I thought Elsa was a b****!") and mockery of the kid pooping his pants ("I haven't crapped my pants all month!", a line that leads into Franco corpsing like mad) will never cease to amuse me.

20. Maine Justice (various)
I didn't think this needed to be recurring, but the second iteration of it was pretty funny too. The basic idea, of course, is that an obviously Louisiana courtroom and judge are the focus of a show ostensibly about a Maine courtroom. In the right mood, this hits a high level of comedic genius, although a lot of that has to do with the work of the perpetually underrated Sudeikis, masterful as the judge (this character reminds me a bit of his work in the bizarre but engrossing Potato Chip Thief sketch with Blake Lively).

19. Mornin', Miami! (various)
I'm kind of sad this recurring sketch died, not that it really had major sea legs but it was always good for some laughs. Newscasters Bobby Moynihan, Kate McKinnon, and the guest host grumpily record some promos for increasingly surrealistic segments. The carefully modulated dialogue, in which things keep getting weirder and weirder, was always a treat, and while nothing has topped the revelation that Moynihan's B.F. is really named "B**** Fantastic," the "full name" ending was also good for some anticipation. I also enjoy this sketch's constant callbacks to "actor Topher Grace."

18. Back Home Ballers (11/22/14)
This is similar to the much heralded "Twin Bed" short with Jimmy Fallon, which came close to making the list but is a little overrated in my assessment. This short, on the other hand, is a bit more relatable (at least to me), perfectly capturing the selfish joy and awkwardness that going home to see the parents is like. McKinnon's bit about "getting free wifi like a dope-a** ho," only to discover that the password begins with 17 0's, is a masterpiece.

17. We Did Stop (The Government) (10/5/13)
While it's kind of MAD TV-esque to parody music videos, I felt it was the one thing that show did quite well, so this had a MAD TV vibe to it in the best way. This pitch-perfect parody of Miley Cyrus' video takes the lyrics and applies it to the government shutdown, with Taran Killam (vaguely unrecognizable) as John Boehner and Cyrus as Michelle Bachmann. While perhaps I'm being too generous to this sketch, I thought it had an incisive point about the silliness of the whole shutdown incident, plus Killam-as-Boehner has some serious moves.

16. Lincoln (3/29/14)
Louis CK has been a fine host for the show frequently let down by only so-so material. This is probably my favorite bit he's done, a very oddball parody of his own show, only featuring Abraham Lincoln instead of himself. Watching Lincoln engage in Louis' awkward experiences (talking to a freed slave, doing stand-up about Confederates, discussing going to the theater with his wife) is great. I always really enjoyed how the Lincoln opening credits mirrored Louie, down to the person giving the finger to the camera.

15. The Original Kings of Catchphrase Comedy (various)
In one of the greatest sins of SNL history, the third iteration of this sketch (from a surprisingly good Mick Jagger episode) was cut and is only an online extra. The overstuffed nature of these sketches is always good for some surprises, as it gives nearly every cast member a chance to play a hacky comedian (including Seth Meyers' "Boston Powers"). It's hard to say who is best in these bits—Zach Galifianikis' airhorn comic, Kenan's Dave "Beeef Jellly" Winfield (Matt Weiner once got a common link Dave Winfield tossup off this clue, Moynihan's "Slappy Pappy," or Charlie Day's incisive Dane Cook parody (J-J-J-Jack Knife, a name I think I gave a CO team once), but even the smaller bits come off well—Fred Armisen's various schlocky comics, Nasim Pedrad's "My Vagina" character, and Dave Grohl's penis obsessive prop comic.

14. The Real Housewives of Disney (3/3/12)
I found this a creative idea from the otherwise mediocre 2012 Lindsay Lohan episode, in which various Disney princess characters end up in a Real Housewives style show. The 2011-2012 season seemed to be a brief highwater mark of that era's female cast members finding niches, and so everyone has something fun to do here (Killam's closeted Prince Charming does steal the show though). Lohan is sadly the worst part, offering little as Rapunzel.

13. Coach Bert (12/3/11)
A genius sketch that related to the pedophilia accusations that had plagued various college sports programs around this time, as assistant coach Bert (Steve Buscemi) is the logical choice to be a pedophile…except he's not. As head coach Jason Sudeikis and various cops reveal, Bert is not a pedophile but he is a weirdo. Buscemi is perfectly cast, and the sketch gets fairly edgy for this sort of material (the player who wishes he would have been abused instead of having to listen to Bert's dumb songs, for instance).

12. Who's On Top? (9/24/11)
One of the many reasons why I miss Bill Hader on the show was his ability to mine laughs as a game show host. Here, he hosts a show in which the object of the game is to guess if two celebrities had sex, who would be on top. Jason Sudeikis' calmly horrified reaction to the game ("No…I'm not playing this") starts things off well, with Alec Baldwin's insanely obsessive contestant keeping the comedy going. Hader's deadpan line about the show being a "smart game" is an underrated meme that I hope catches on to describe terrible quizbowl questions. Finally, Baldwin's ranking of the cast of Entourage ("Scott Caan watches!") having sex is brilliant.

11. Darrell's House (5/4/13)
You will notice that at least two of these sketches in the top 15 or so use the trope of running the main sketch, having other content in between, and then coming back to it later. In this case, we see Zach Galifianikis' Darrell filming his lousy public access talk show, giving all sorts of insipid or implausible suggestions to his editor. This is itself is pretty funny but would probably have ranked quite a bit lower, but it's capped by actually seeing the (terrible) results of Darrell's ideas a few sketches later, including a cameo by Jon Hamm. It's a great sketch that forces you to recall or go back and watch the first part to understand everything happening in the second part.

10. Roundball Rock (4/13/13)
Another utter tragedy in SNL history is Tim Robinson being taken out of the cast and returned to the writers' room, as his manic writing/performing spirit greatly enlivens two of the top ten sketches on this list. Here, Robinson is Dave Tesh, the brother of John (Sudeikis), who is called in by NBC executives to write a theme for the NBA on NBC show. John's instrumental is solid, but Dave has some lyrics that don't fly very well. "Ba-ba-ba-ba-basketball, GIMME THE BALL BECAUSE I'M GONNA DUNK IT!" The sketch just hits all the 10 to 1 tropes, with weird dialogue, performances, and endings (the Teshes about to burn the network down) appearing in abundance. An out of nowhere highlight in the otherwise dreadful Vince Vaughn episode.

9. Lazy Sunday 2 (5/19/12)
The final digital short of the original Andy Samberg run on the show appropriately is a callback to the first great hit of the Lonely Island era. Here, Samberg and the always welcome Chris Parnell effectively recreate the original short, with updated rhymes and situations. While the original is far superior and this one stumbles at times (the choice of seeing Sister Act on Broadway seemed a misstep), this one deserves the high rating because of the energy and elegiac feel—Samberg's final lines about coming full circle are one of those great moments in the show's history when you realize an era is about to end.

8. Neurotology (4/4/15)
On some level, it's an easy target, and on another level, it's doing the same thing that the book/documentary Going Clear did. On another level, though, this is a brilliantly created short, perfectly capturing the type of cheesy Scientology-esque promotional videos that the real church has produced, and counterpointing it with disquieting (and more or less truthful) insights into what happened to the people in the video. I also find the song super catchy. Colin Jost gets a rare sketch appearance as the guy who "blackmails gay actors."

7. Ex-Porn Stars (various)
This sketch sadly never really improved after becoming a wonderful new creation in the 2012-2013 season, but I'll always have those memories of the first three iterations of it. This sketch also really pushed the envelope for dialogue, with some really explicit references to sex being slipped in. Of the first three, I think I actually like the Ben Affleck (as "Girth Brooks") one best, as Affleck really begins to corpse at times (his reaction to Strong saying "a whole hand in," for example). I frankly think that having better hosts to appear in these bits is really the solution, as ill-chosen hosts dragged down its appearances the following season (Tina Fey? Andy Samberg? Jonah Hill?).

6. What's That Name? (various)
Another great Bill Hader game show episode. I think most people may remember the second one better, with Lady Gaga and Justin Timberlake. That one's funny, to be sure, with Timberlake unable to recognize a N*SYNC bandmate and an ex-girlfriend, but I kind of prefer the more incisive first one, where yuppie Paul Rudd can't remember the name of his doorman ("NORMAN!"). The bit where Rudd guesses an intern's name right, gets cocky, and still can't identify the doorman is priceless.

5. Stefon's Wedding (5/18/13)
This was the only cheat of the list, as it's technically an Update bit, but it does leave the confines of the Update desk and become its own filmed piece. On some levels, this may be one of the most brilliant pieces of writing on the show, as an emotionally confused Stefon runs away from Seth Meyers to get married to…Anderson Cooper. In attendance…every weird club denizen Stefon has talked about over the years. Meyers stops the wedding, punches out Cooper, and is saved by DJ Baby Bok Choi. They then run back to the Update studio, with numerous recurring Update guests throwing rice at the happy couple. An absolutely amazing piece of history that serves as three things: a wonderful send-off to Bill Hader, a great callback to the only non Update Stefon appearance (with Ben Affleck again as his brother), and a sketch that provided material for a bonus that my team used to upset Mike Sorice's team at CO 2013.

4. The Midnight Coterie of Sinister Intruders (10/26/13)
I think the best SNL parody sketches are when it’s a dual parody of two seemingly unrelated things. Here, it's "what if Wes Anderson made a slasher movie?" The impressions are a mixed lot (to be honest, I think the only one I really like is Edward Norton's Owen Wilson), but the look and feel of Anderson's style, films, and trailers is perfectly captured. Things would also have been better if Alec Baldwin's aural cameo as the narrator wasn't spelled out. Alas.

3. Z Shirts (3/2/13)
I can safely say that this is the best thing Kevin Hart will ever do in his career. It's hard to say why I like this bit so much, other than the fact I'm a sucker for overly long gags (rake jokes) and the breathtakingly great callback sketch with the funeral set-up a few beats later. As those in the quizbowl IRC are aware, this sketch was relentlessly referenced in its wake.

2. Don't You Go Runnin' Roun to Re Ro (2/12/11)
I honestly did not expect this sketch to rank so high, but its cheerfully hilarious premise and execution really rocketed it up the list. It's a trailer for a British crime film in the vein of Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels, except we suddenly realize that the almost incomprehensible accents of Fred Armisen and Bill Hader are the whole point of the sketch. It sounds stupid, but as someone who has suffered through this dilemma before, it's very funny to me. The reviewer who notes it seems like a "lot of killing over a very small amount of money" also is great.

1. Jack Sparrow (5/7/11)
And the top sketch is a fairly famous digital short, with a tremendous performance from Michael Bolton. If it had just been Bolton singing about Jack Sparrow (which to be frank, is how far a lot of Lonely Island shorts go), this might have cracked the list, but the sudden jumps at the end to other films, particularly the extended run about Scarface, greatly elevate this. It's also a really, really catchy piece of music. I think its reign as the top sketch of the period says a bit more about the period than this sketch, but it's great.

[Good Goblin Housekeeping]

TIME TO VOTE THEM OFF ONE BY ONE

[AKKOLADE]

kobe

[at your pleasure]

This inspired me to watch "The Midnight Coterie of Sinister Intruders" and I was amused.

[Rufous-capped Thornbill]

Martin Short is good.

[merv1618]

Martin Short is good.

I must say.